Business

The numbers in the survey improved from 45 per cent who trusted financial companies in the survey released last year and 47 per cent who trusted banks. Photo used for illustrative purpose only– Bloomberg News

New York: Financial services and banks were the least-trusted industries for the third year, with half of people surveyed saying they could be trusted to do what's right, according to an annual poll by public relations firm Edelman. The numbers improved from 45 per cent who trusted financial companies in the survey released last year and 47 per cent who trusted banks.

Technology companies topped the ranking again with 77 per cent, down two percentage points from a year earlier, according to the poll of the so-called informed public ages 25 to 64 in 20 countries.

Institutions were more trusted overall this year and the reputation of business continued to surpass government. The portion of the informed public who said they trust business climbed to 58 per cent from 53 per cent a year ago, while trust in government rose to 48 per cent from 43 per cent, the survey found.

The share who said they trusted business 'a great deal' was 17 per cent, the same as for government, according to the online poll, which surveyed 4,600 people in October and November.

The countries with the highest proportion of people who said they trusted business were Mexico, at 82 per cent, and India, at 81 per cent. Those with the lowest trust were South Korea, at 31 per cent, and Russia, at 40 per cent, the survey found.

In the United States, 62 per cent said they trusted business to do the right thing, compared to 53 per cent who said they felt the same about government. In the UK, business garnered 56 per cent and government got 47 per cent, according to the survey.

Informed publicTrust in banks was below 50 per cent in two-thirds of the markets surveyed. In the US, the percentage of the informed public who said they trust banks has risen to 49 per cent from 25 per cent two years ago, although it's still below the 69 per cent who said they trusted banks in 2008. The lowest percentages expressing trust in banks were 11 per cent in Ireland, 19 per cent in Spain and 22 per cent in the UK, the survey found.

Edelman defines the 'informed public' as college-educated people in the top 25 per cent of household income for their age group in their country who report having significant engagement in business news and public policy. That group is a good indication of where 'informed opinion' is heading, according to Edelman.

Banks and financial service companies were also the least trusted among the broader general public surveyed by Edelman, the poll found. The Financial Times reported the survey's results earlier on its website. Edelman releases the Trust Barometer survey results annually at the start of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.